Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action

Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action

University of Michigan

About this course: Are you concerned about climate change? Would you like to learn how to address and respond to this challenge? If so, this course is for you.
Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action is intended to help learners understand, address and respond to climate change as individuals and in partnership with their communities and political leaders. The course focuses on how to translate learning into action on climate change in the areas of food, energy, transportation and the built environment (cities). It was designed by students for students, faculty, and learning specialists. A range of academic climate change experts and professional leaders are featured.
As a result of completing this course, you will be able to:
1) Identify individual, community, and political actions you can engage in to effectively address and respond to climate change.
2) Describe how insights from the social sciences can be employed to create change at the individual, community, and political levels.
3) Feel empowered to continue to influence how you, your community, and political leaders address and respond to climate change.

Who is this class for: This course was designed for individuals who would like to learn more about actions they can take to lessen the impact of climate change and respond to a changing climate. There are no prerequisites for this course, and we do not assume that you have a background in climate science.

As part of this introductory lesson, we will help you explore your motivations for taking this course, briefly introduce you to the current state of climate science and policy, and prepare you for taking actions on climate change throughout the course.

3 videos, 15 readings

Reading: Syllabus

Video: Welcome to the course

Reading: Welcome to Act on Climate

Discussion Prompt: Introduce yourself

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Help us learn more about you!

Reading: Climate science and policy

Reading: Optional resources

Video: Meet Dahlia

Reading: Climate mitigation and adaptation

Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Rosina Bierbaum

Reading: Video references and optional resources

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Action types

Reading: Co-benefits and climate justice

Reading: Looking ahead

Reading: Take action to ensure your future success

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions

Discussion Prompt: What actions did you take?

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Assessment of actions

WEEK 2

Food

Food is part of our everyday lives. From breakfast to dinner, we make choices that affect the planet. This week, you will hear from Chris about his journey toward vegetarianism, and you will learn from Dr. Sara Soderstrom about social movement theory and food businesses in Detroit, as well as actions that you can take to make food choices that can mitigate climate change.

2 videos, 15 readings

Video: Meet Chris

Reading: Food and climate change

Video: Meet the Expert: Dr. Sara Soderstrom

Reading: Case Study

Discussion Prompt: Social movements

Reading: Looking ahead

Reading: Anna’s story

Reading: Option 1: Eat less red meat

Reading: Option 2: Reduce food waste

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Brandon’s story

Reading: Engage with your community about food

Reading: Nolan’s story

Reading: Influence decision making

Reading: Alison’s story

Reading: Participate in farmer-to-consumer programs

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions

Discussion Prompt: What actions did you take?

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Assessment of actions

WEEK 3

Energy

We use energy in almost everything we do, but there are also many ways we can reduce emissions from our energy consumption. This week, you will hear from Benjamin about saving energy in cold winters and from Dr. Kaitlin Raimi about the theory of environmental peer persuasion. You will also learn several actions you can take to reduce energy consumption in your home, on your campus, and in your community.

2 videos, 13 readings

Video: Meet Benjamin

Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Kaitlin Raimi

Reading: Case study

Discussion Prompt: What would a climate action plan look like in your community?

Reading: Looking ahead

Reading: Stephanie’s story

Reading: Energy consumption

Reading: Optional resources

Discussion Prompt: Other tools for tracking energy use

Reading: Alison’s story

Reading: Attend a community meeting about alternative energy

Reading: Yousef’s story

Reading: Promote divestment from fossil fuels

Reading: Stephanie’s story

Reading: Prepare for climate-related emergencies

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions

Discussion Prompt: What actions did you take?

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Assessment of actions

WEEK 4

Transportation

Transportation is part of everyday life. This week, you will hear from Stephanie about the collective impact of personal transportation decisions and from Brandon Schoettle about how driving decisions impact greenhouse gas emissions. You will also examine popular ride-hailing services, as well as actions that you can take to make transportation choices that can mitigate climate change, and ultimately you will learn to support a more resilient transportation system.

2 videos, 14 readings

Video: Meet Stephanie

Reading: Video references and optional resources

Video: Meet the expert - Brandon Schoettle

Reading: Video references

Discussion Prompt: Reflection on Brandon’s interview

Reading: Case study

Reading: Optional resources

Discussion Prompt: The tricky issue of ride-hailing and carpooling

Reading: Looking ahead

Reading: Anne Marie’s story

Reading: Reduce emissions from transportation

Reading: Haley’s story

Reading: Join or organize a community bike event

Reading: Derell’s story

Reading: Interacting with your transit authority

Reading: Encourage resilient transportation

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions

Discussion Prompt: What actions did you take?

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Assessment of actions

WEEK 5

Built Environment

There is a complex relationship between our lives and the built infrastructure with which we interact on a daily basis. This week, you will learn about one theory of urban design - “New Urbanism” - and use it as a way to explore these relationships and how you can reimagine the built environment as a means to act on climate change. You will also learn about how one city used deliberative democracy to transform their built environment and move toward carbon neutrality. Together, the content will assist you in identifying how the built environment can be transformed to address the effects of climate change.

2 videos, 15 readings

Video: Meet Haley

Reading: Why the built environment is important

Video: Meet the expert - Doug Kelbaugh

Reading: Case study

Reading: Lessons from Geraldton - Interview with Janette Hartz-Karp

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Looking ahead

Reading: The breakdown on New Urbanism

Reading: Explore your city with New Urbanism

Reading: Melanie’s story

Reading: Participate in a resource sharing program

Discussion Prompt: Community resources

Reading: Chris’s story

Reading: Contact local government about using democratic reform

Discussion Prompt: Deliberative democracy and participatory budgeting near you

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Plant a tree

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Quiz: Assessment of actions

Discussion Prompt: What actions did you take?

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Assessment of actions

WEEK 6

Climate Action Plan

This week, you will apply ideas you learned in this course, learn about another relevant social change theory, and develop your own Personal Climate Action Plan. As part of this plan you will identify individual and community-related actions that you can take to mitigate the impact of increased greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change after completing this course.

2 videos, 6 readings

Video: Meet Priscila

Reading: Introduction to Climate Action Plans

Reading: Case study

Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Jennifer Hirsch

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Bringing it home - Community Climate Action Plan

Discussion Prompt: Apply the asset-based approach to your community

Reading: Introduction to Personal Climate Action Plan Assignment

Reading: Build your Personal Climate Action Plan

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Peer review

WEEK 7

Conclusion

You have now learned about a variety of theories of social change and tried a range of mitigation and adaptation actions. We hope that this will not be the end! During this concluding week, we will provide you with resources to continue to engage in climate actions, including: making new practices “stick,” how to work with your community, and why you might even consider making a bigger commitment, like running for political office.

5 videos, 8 readings

Video: Meet Sachi

Reading: Introduction

Video: Meet the expert - Dr. Raymond De Young

Reading: Optional resources

Reading: Improving community engagement

Reading: Optional resources: Climate-related films

Reading: Run for office

Reading: Optional resources

Video: Meet the expert - State Representative Yousef Rabhi

Discussion Prompt: Activism through art

Video: Meet the expert - Mayor Amanda Edmonds

Discussion Prompt: Reflection survey

Video: Dr. Michaela Zint concludes the course

Reading: Acknowledgments

Reading: Post-Course Survey

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Check your understanding

Graded: Assessment of overall actions

FAQs

How It Works

Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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and get help mastering concepts.

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Creators

University of Michigan

The mission of the University of Michigan is to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.9 out of 5 of 9 ratings

PS

Thanks to all for this fantastic course on Climate Change and for showing us how we can make our contribution.